I'm a little confused about the two... would some kind soul explain the difference in style, technique, patterns, sparring... or indeed anything else! Many thanks!
As with much in TKD there are probably several sides to the story As a result I'm going to skip all the political aspects of the split. Essentially the TAGB was formed in 1983. Its senior Instructors split from ITF TKD and set up as a stand alone organisation, neither ITF nor WTF, but doing the Ch'ang Hon pattern set and based in ITF TKD. In some ways this results in TAGB TKD being "fossilised" TKD . TAGB use hip twist and a gentle rise/fall motion, not sine wave (at least not as sine wave is done these days). People such as myself and StuartA would refer to this as "natural motion", though there are some differences in our interpretation too I think. We both do 3/2/1 step sparring, semi-free sparring and free sparring of course. I'm unsure how close the 3 step/2 steps are, but the free sparring is similar in terms of scoring, although there are variations. TAGB has always had a very strong emphasis on competition. From Clash of the Titans events in the 80's to today's TKDI and even occasional WTF style tournaments, part of the raison d'etre of TAGB is competition. That's a rough idea, perhaps others would like to flesh it out more? Mitch
Thanks so much for explaining. I have found a TAGB club locally that I'm keen to go to, though coming from a shotokan and WTF background, where sine wave wasnt present (it is a pretty new concept to me), I'm not sure how well I could adjust to it. I am used to the hip twist motion! Generally, do TAGB clubs stick to a non-sine wave syllabus? Or can it vary from club to club? (I can appreciate that one instructors way of teaching can be extremely different from anothers) Also, do TAGB tournements require competitors to wear body armour as in WTF? Finally, where might one find a good resource for TAGB patterns? Thanks all! -Ferret.
No body armour in competitions. No sine wave. There are a few tagb patterns on u-tube (some better than others)
Ahh ok! Last question before I disappear off into the realms of the ever so accurate (!) Wikipedia. Where do you chaps get your doboks from (other then direct from your school). I'm assuming I wont be able to wear my old WTF suit? I had a look at Kwon, Playwell and Blitz, and they seem very geared towards WTF gear. Is there a specific TAGB uniform as opposed to ITF? Sorry for newbie questions. It would appear TKD is a bloody confusing minefield!
